Human toxocarosis is one of the most widespread and prevalent helminthic zoonosis in many countries, including Slovakia. The aim was to evaluate the usefulness of IgA anti-Toxocara antibody detection in the serodiagnosis of toxocarosis. The levels of specific IgA antibodies were determined by excretory-secretory (ES)-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The IgA seropositivity in IgG anti-Toxocara seropositive patients (n = 52) was 32.7% and found to be highest in the oldest age groups (P = 0.026). The presence of IgA in suspected patients for toxocarosis were evaluated in respect to some characteristics of examined persons. Substantially higher IgA seropositivity was detected in patients with increased total IgE (44.8%) than in subjects with a normal level of IgE (17.4%; P = 0.036). No associations (P > 0.05) were found between IgA seropositivity and sex, level of specific IgG antibodies, avidity of IgG, eosinophilia, domicile, geophagia, traveling abroad, dog/cat ownership, or clinical symptoms. The IgA-ELISA showed sensitivity of 57.1% and specificity of 100%. Mild correlations (r = 0.302, r = 0.305, r = - 0.409) were observed between the levels of anti-Toxocara IgA antibodies and age, the amounts of eosinophils and IgA antibody levels, the amounts of eosinophils, and the values of IgG avidity, respectively. The presence of anti-Toxocara IgA may facilitate the diagnosis of toxocarosis and may well be useful for the determination of acute Toxocara infection. Moreover, this test should be accompanied by other immunological markers of examined patients (e.g., increased total IgE, eosinophilia, and low-avidity IgG antibodies).

Department of Parasitology Medirex Ltd Galvaniho 17 C 82016 Bratislava Slovakia

Faculty of Health Care and Social Work Trnava University in Trnava Univerzitné námestie 1 91843 Trnava Slovakia

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Acta Trop. 1990 Jul;47(5-6):355-64 PubMed

Vet Parasitol. 2013 Apr 15;193(4):327-36 PubMed

Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 1993 Jul-Aug;35(4):361-5 PubMed

Vet Parasitol. 2010 Nov 24;174(1-2):2-11 PubMed

Korean J Parasitol. 2001 Mar;39(1):1-11 PubMed

Exp Parasitol. 2015 Dec;159:252-8 PubMed

J Clin Microbiol. 1988 Oct;26(10):2101-4 PubMed

Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 2011 Mar-Apr;53(2):61-5 PubMed

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1994 Sep-Oct;88(5):531-3 PubMed

Pak J Biol Sci. 2009 Jul 15;12(14):1031-5 PubMed

J Small Anim Pract. 1999 Sep;40(9):458-9 PubMed

Epidemiol Mikrobiol Imunol. 2001 Apr;50(2):67-70 PubMed

Acta Trop. 2003 Dec;89(1):73-84 PubMed

Afr J Med Med Sci. 2000 Jun;29(2):111-4 PubMed

Epidemiol Infect. 2015 Jul;143(10):2249-58 PubMed

Q J Med. 1988 Sep;68(257):679-90 PubMed

Lancet. 1968 May 25;1(7552):1118-21 PubMed

Infect Immun. 1999 Feb;67(2):989-93 PubMed

Parasite. 2001 Jun;8(2 Suppl):S152-7 PubMed

Lancet. 1988 Nov 12;2(8620):1104-7 PubMed

J Clin Microbiol. 1992 Sep;30(9):2269-74 PubMed

Clin Exp Immunol. 1969 Dec;5(6):619-25 PubMed

Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 2008 Jun;102(4):347-56 PubMed

J Clin Lab Anal. 2006;20(4):164-72 PubMed

Immunology. 1998 Sep;95(1):97-104 PubMed

J Exp Med. 1991 Oct 1;174(4):809-13 PubMed

Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2000 Jun;31(2):394-8 PubMed

Lancet. 1988 Mar 26;1(8587):692-5 PubMed

Chem Immunol. 1997;66:99-124 PubMed

Clin Exp Allergy. 2005 Jun;35(6):826-32 PubMed

Parasitology. 2008 May;135(6):725-33 PubMed

Parasite. 2001 Jun;8(2 Suppl):S163-7 PubMed

Vet Parasitol. 2004 Dec 15;126(3):317-24 PubMed

Ann Ist Super Sanita. 2012;48(1):97-104 PubMed

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1998 Sep;59(3):404-6 PubMed

Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 2008 Mar-Apr;50(2):101-5 PubMed

J Helminthol. 1993 Dec;67(4):291-6 PubMed

Parasite Immunol. 2008 Mar;30(3):187-90 PubMed

Clin Exp Allergy. 2008 Apr;38(4):551-3 PubMed